Mortgage borrowing and purchase approvals down in November: BBA

Both gross mortgage borrowing and house purchase approvals were down in the year to November, according to the latest bank lending figures.

A report from the British Bankers Association found that gross mortgage borrowing in November 2016 was £12.2bn, 5 per cent lower than in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, house purchase approval numbers were 9 per cent lower than in November 2015 and were 4 per cent lower in the first eleven months of 2016 than in the same period last year.

However, remortgaging approvals were 14 per cent higher than those in November 2015 and in the first eleven months of 2016 were 13 per cent higher than in the equivalent period of 2015.

BBA chief economist Rebecca Harding says: “The reduction in interest rates in August may have boosted remortgaging approvals, with consumers looking to take advantage of the current economic conditions and lock-in lower interest rates.”

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